Executive Summary

Project Oriented Searching Team (POST) is an NGO set up by a group of people to work for the cultural, social and environmental betterment of Cyprus. POST’s vision is to make a difference through social and cultural activities with its dynamic, effective and productive group, both at local and international level. POST’s mission is to prepare projects that envisage the participation of the members who are involved or interested in social and cultural matters.

POST has recently been involved in the project “Education for Peace”, because education plays a crucial role for peace and reconciliation after prolonged ethnic conflict. We believe that contributing to peace should be our primary goal because the social, cultural and environmental betterment of Cyprus can only be achieved through the establishment of a society living in harmony. The project focused on the study of 5th Grade elementary school books in order to identify elements that cultivate conflict between the two main communities in Cyprus, and to propose at the same time alternative ways of teaching that will help to create mutual understanding for a smooth transition to a multicultural society.

Firstly, the 5th Grade Social Sciences books were studied and the elements that cultivate hatred, enmity, resentment and fear between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities have been identified. Conflict and hatred between the two communities is being exacerbated through elementary school education material in Cyprus. The ‘discursive strategy’ employed in 5th Grade Social Sciences books is reminiscent of a Hollywood film’s ‘good and bad guys’. From start to finish, the book portrays Greek Cypriots as the ‘bad guys’.

The period of inter-communal tension from 1964 to 1974 is the ‘dark period’ for Turkish Cypriots for which ‘the whole responsibility lies with the Greek Cypriot side’. (p.18-19) ‘The Happy Ending’ for the Turkish Cypriot community occurs in 1974, when Turkey undertakes a military intervention (called a ‘Peace Operation’) and divides Cyprus geographically and demographically into two - north and south. Thereafter, ‘the Turkish Cypriots are living happily in North Cyprus….’

The findings of the project clearly show that 5th Grade history and social science textbooks promote mutual fear, distrust, resentment and enmity on the island. In addition to violating fundamental European values and principles related to education, they negatively shape the minds of students and the new generations. Textbooks do not simply inform students, but also mirror the values and norms that society wants to transmit to the next generation. The study demonstrated that history is not taught in a critical and balanced way.

Once the elements, phrases, hidden messages or historical myths that cultivate conflict, fear, and mutual distrust between the two communities in Cyprus were identified, the project worked on proposals for alternative teaching methods that would not patronise children, would encourage them to think for themselves, and to understand and resolve conflicts peacefully. There is an urgent need for a new approach to history teaching, based on the idea of reconciliation and having a positive influence on new generations, as well as on developing methodologies to modernise history teaching, producing new textbooks and training teachers accordingly. History teaching should not be an instrument of ideological or political manipulation or propaganda and nor should it be used for the promotion of intolerant and ethnocentric, chauvinist or racist ideas.

At this point, reforms in the education system, including the revision of textbooks and the curriculum in the primary schools, are urgently needed. Such reform should not only include changes in curriculum and teaching methods but also in management structures. In addition to the elimination of ethno-centric, racist elements in textbooks and school practices, the goal for any reform strategy should be for a modern, high quality education that is free from politics, and also to bring the education system in line with the European standards. Textbooks in national subjects such as History, Social Science and Literature should contain material that is acceptable to all (in the case of Cyprus, acceptable for both Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities). The removal of inappropriate material from textbooks and an agreement on a common foundation for future modernisation of the education system are of key importance for the reform of education to ensure higher quality and promotion of peace in schools.

In sum, a few concrete suggestions for future peace education could be:

1) Depoliticise education and make it free from political, religious, cultural and other biases and discrimination.

2) Provide balanced education through a modern curriculum and a modern system implemented by well-trained teachers in properly equipped schools.

3) Such a modern curriculum would encompass relevant and contemporary knowledge skills to face the challenges of the 21st Century.

4) Provision of minimum standards of school facilities including equipment and learning materials, as well as hygiene. (Some schools in small towns in the northern part of Cyprus lack such facilities).

5) Employ management practices through school boards and school directors for a fair, democratic, non-discriminatory and non-ethnocentric education.

6) To achieve all these, we propose a list of recommendations developed through several workshops organized by the Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe. It is also important to present other examples of textbook revision to the Cypriot public, such as the revision of textbooks “Peace and Reconciliation: German-Polish History Textbook Dialogue” and “Textbooks After an Ethnic Conflict: A Very Recent Example from Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

The development of a dialogue between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot teachers, educators, local NGOs and competent authorities for the reformation of school education has been initiated with the project “Education For Peace”, which will pave the way for the next generation of citizens and leaders to move toward a multicultural, multinational society. Since the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities are now in close contact with each other, both communities’ history should be jointly prepared and common history should be taught. A bilateral understanding of history should be replaced with a unilateral way of explaining history. The Greek Cypriot community is constantly accused of atrocities and is depicted as inhuman. Many examples show that children are scared of the Greek Cypriot community as a result. This perception urgently needs to change if we dream of building a common future.

On the whole, there is a need for an urgent education reform in Cyprus to achieve peace and reconciliation, and the results of the “Education For Peace” project will be a major factor in initiating the reform process to support the move toward a common future in harmony with one another.